Improvement in the cutting apparatus of harvesters



T. c. HARGRAVES.

' Cutter Bar. I

proceed to describeit.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

'1. G. HARGRAVES OF SCHEN'EGTADY, NEW YORK.

Specification forming part of- Letters Patent No. 33,941, dated December 17, 1561.

To all whom) it may concern.- Be it known that I, T. G. Hnn-onavns, of Schenectady, in the county ofSchenectady and State of New York, have invented aznew and Improved Sickle or Cutting Device for Grain and Grass Harvesters; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full,clear, and exact description of the same, reference being bad to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a planor top View ofniy invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section of the same, taken in the line as m, Fig. 1.

Similar letters ofrefe'rcnce indicate corresponding parts-in the several figures. The object of this invention is to-obtain a simple and efficient-cutting device for grain and grass harvesters, one that cannotchoke -or clog, and one that will be extremely durable and operate with less power than. those of usual construction.

The invention consists in the employment or use of two reciprocating toothed blades placed one over the other and operated simultaneously in opposite directions by'reverse cranks, in connection wi h guard-fingers, setscrcws, and a finger-bar, all arranged substan tially as hereinafter shown and described.

To enable those skilled in the art to fullyunderstand and construct my invention, I will A A represent two reciprocating sickles, whichgare constructed'in the usual way, to wit: y shaped cutters or teeth a being formed at one side of steel plates 1), the length of the teeth being equal to the width of the plates, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. The sickles A A are placed one directly upon the other, the

lower sickle, A, resting on a finger-bar, B,

which is secured to the front end of the platform, as usual. I

0 represents the fingers,whieh areattached. tothe finger-bar B. These fingers are of the usual form, and are. attached to the under side of the bar B. The fingers, however, arenot provided with any cap or top, a shallow recess, c,

' sickles-and still operate perfectly.

only being made horizontally in the front part of the fingers to receive the ends of the cutters or teeth a, as shown clearly in Fi g. 2. The finger-bar B is just equal in width to the plates 1) of the sickles,A A, and the two sickles are kept in proper contact by means of screws f f, passing through guides g g, which project over the top plate, b, of the sickle and underneath the finger-bar B, the upper screw, d, bearing on the plate I) of the upper sickle, and the lower screw bearing against the "underside of the plate 71 of the lower, sickle. (See Fig. 2.)

On the upper surface of the plate I) of the lower sickle, A, there is secured a metal-bar or strip, h. This strip is at the back part of plate b, and has a tendency to keep. the cuttingedges of the cutters ,01' teeth a in contact by screwing up the screws f. The number of short stroke, and the cutting operation is rendered very effectual. The fingers C protect the cutters or teeth from stones or stumps, or any irregularities of surface, and the teeth and blades may be made quite thick-n1ucb thicker than the cutters or teeth of ordinary The two sickles, operating as described, prevent the possibility of choking or clogging.

Having thus described my invention, whatI claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

' The combination of the tworeciprocating toothed cutters A A, recessed fingers O 0, set.-

screws ff, guard g, and plate h, all constructed,

arranged, and operating in the manner and for the purposes herein shown and explained.

T. 0. HA? GRAVES.

Witnesses:

S. E. Flron, HENRY M. CRANE. 

